Huskies waiting for bowl invite

STORRS - The UConn football program will have to wait until at least today for the first bowl invitation in school history.

UConn officials had hoped to receive a bid to the Continental Tire Bowl Sunday night, but with Syracuse's upset of
Boston College
over the weekend, the Orange became bowl eligible and added a sixth team to the Big East's bowl picture.

According to Continental Tire Bowl spokesman
Frank Kay
, the Huskies still have a chance to play in the Dec. 28 game in Charlotte, N.C. But it's hardly a one-team race.

"We still have no idea who we're going to invite from the Big East. There won't be any kind of announcement until (Monday) at the earliest," Kay said Sunday night. "We're still looking at UConn and West Virginia, although Boston College is in the mix now a little bit. We're at a complete loss."

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Suddenly, the Big East is faced with finding bowl slots for UConn, Boston College, West Virginia, Syracuse, Pittsburgh and Notre Dame.

The Irish, who compete in the Big East in all sports except football, accepted a bid to the Insight Bowl Sunday night. By contract, Notre Dame is eligible to accept Big East bowl slots if the Irish fail to qualify for the
Bowl Championship Series
.

Officials from the Continental Tire Bowl will meet again today to review all the different scenarios. If officials do extend an invitation to a Big East team this afternoon, it could be a late-breaking announcement, Kay said.

Last Tuesday, when North Carolina accepted the Atlantic Coast Conference's bid to the Continental Tire Bowl, the press conference was held just 90 minutes after the invitation was accepted.

There was just as much uncertainty in Storrs over the weekend.

UConn spokesman
Michael Enright
said he spoke with athletic director
Jeff Hathaway
about 6:30 p.m. on Sunday, but the Huskies still didn't have an invitation on the table.

"We're not anticipating anything happening (Sunday night)," Enright said. "The Gator Bowl is really the first step. Once that's figured out, you get a much better idea of who is going where."

According to a source close to the bowl picture, West Virginia is likely headed to the Gator Bowl, although Boston College is also a candidate to play on New Year's Day in Jacksonville, Fla.

The Big East's BCS berth in the Fiesta Bowl, meanwhile, will go to Pittsburgh or Syracuse.

If the Panthers beat South Florida on Saturday, they will earn the lottery-like payout of between $11 million and $14 million. If Pittsburgh loses, Syracuse will get the invitation, after being named the FedEx Orange Bowl National Team of the Week on Sunday, following its 43-17 victory over Boston College.

Whoever is left out of the Gator Bowl, whether it's BC or West Virginia, could end up in the Continental Tire Bowl. Both schools beat the Huskies (7-4, 3-3) this season and both have better records (8-3, 4-2).

Where does that leave UConn?

If the Huskies don't go to the Continental Tire Bowl, they will go to a bowl game that can't fill its conference obligations.

For example, one scenario has UConn appearing in the Motor City Bowl in Detroit on Dec. 27. According to collegefootballnews.com, the Huskies would replace the Big Ten representative - the league didn't qualify enough bowl-eligible teams - and play Miami of Ohio from the Mid-American Conference.

Other possible scenarios have UConn playing in the Independence Bowl in Shreveport, La., on Dec. 28, or the MPC Computers Bowl in Boise, Idaho, on Dec. 27.